THATCHER — At the August Town Council meeting, Thatcher Town Manager Heath Brown informed the council that bids to make improvements to the town’s sewer system came in much higher than expected.
The town budgeted $475,000 for lagoon dredging and dewatering, plus solids hauling and disposal. Bids ranged from a low of $653,825 to a high of $2.1 million.
“It’s not something we can really kick down the road anymore; it’s a pretty significant problem,” Brown said about the sewer pond situation.
Because the town is looking at a deficit of at least $179,000, Brown said he would have the town’s water engineering consultant review the bids to ensure all conformed to the requirements of the task, and then bring that report back to the council in September.
On Monday, the council will hear that the bids are compliant with the requirements, and the council will have to make a decision on how — or if — to move forward being so over budget.
Compounding the issue is that Thatcher is at the top end of its expenditure limit as set by state law. So while the town may have the funding to select a bid more than budgeted, it is prevented by the expenditure limit that was enacted into state law in 1980.
The town could secure financing to pay the higher bid, as debt does not count toward the expenditure limit, but the interest owed would make the end cost even greater.
The town is asking voters to approve increasing the limit, similar to the approval voters gave Eastern Arizona College in raising its expenditure limit in 2024, and during Monday’s meeting the council will discuss how to get information to the public about the expenditure limit vote in November.
The council will meeting Monday, at 6 p.m., in Town Hall.
